Listen to God
A Sermon on Isaiah 1:3
Originally preached Feb. 10, 1963
Scripture
3The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.
Sermon Description
Christians must consider what their is life worth and what they are willing to give up in exchange to save their soul. In this sermon on Isaiah 1:3 titled “Listen to God,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones focuses on these considerations. Even when shown the damage caused by sin, people continue to live in rebellion, not listening to God’s call to repent. While even animals know their master and know the master provides their food and all that they have, people refuse to acknowledge God and all the blessings that come from His merciful hands. Humanity loves sin and wickedness more than their gracious God who has promised to give all things to those who love Him and believe in His name. So, as Dr. Lloyd-Jones asks, what profit is it to gain the whole world and lose one’s soul? What does knowledge and pleasure bring if one dies and goes to hell? People love their sin, but it leads only to death and despair. God has given the best gift possible in Jesus Christ who died and rose from the grave, reigning over all so that all who believe may have eternal life abundantly.
Sermon Breakdown
- Sin is rebellion against God. It denotes a wrong attitude and relationship towards God.
- Sin blinds the mind and renders man ignorant and incapable of thought. Man fails to think and reason.
- Sin perverts man and makes a fool of him. Man behaves in an unnatural and stupid manner, worse than beasts.
- Man is ignorant of what he was meant to be - the companion of God, meant to share in God's glory.
- Man is ignorant of his utter dependence on God. He thinks he is clever and independent but his life is in God's hands.
- Man is ignorant of the excellence of the provision God supplies - the message of salvation in Christ.
Old Testament
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.